Larger or Smaller: An Empirical Study on the Impact of Translation Units on E-C Consecutive Interpreting Quality

Xiaoyi Li

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijalt.20251104.13

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Larger or Smaller: An Empirical Study on the Impact of Translation Units on E-C Consecutive Interpreting Quality

Xiaoyi Li^*

Published in International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation (Volume 11, Issue 4)

Received: 12 October 2025 Accepted: 23 October 2025 Published: 22 November 2025

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Abstract

The interpretive theory of translation (ITT) is a leading theory for interpreter training. It posits that the interpreter conveys meaning as if it were their own, highlighting the absence of formal correspondence. A core component of this process is deverbalization, where the source text’s form is secondary to its meaning. This study empirically investigates the impact of translation unit segmentation on the quality of English-Chinese consecutive interpreting. The methodology bridges the theoretical “sense units” of ITT and the analyzable “translation units” from linguistic studies, to examine how trainee interpreters deverbalize the source text. The results reveal that: (1) optimal units: sentence groups as translation units prove beneficial in enabling interpreters to deverbalize the original text and convey the sense, prioritizing contextual equivalence over formal correspondence, thereby elevating the interpreting quality; (2) unit impact on quality: sentence groups and phrases as translation units demonstrate the potential for enhancing the interpreting quality, words as translation units may lead to a decline in interpreting quality; (3) correlation findings: a positive correlation exists between the count of subordinate clauses and phrases, and a negative correlation exists between sentences and sentence groups. Furthermore, the findings suggest that an interpreter’s speech segmentation preferences affect interpreting performance. The study concludes that these preferences have implications for interpreting curriculum design and quality assessment within interpreter education programs.

Published in	International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation (Volume 11, Issue 4)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijalt.20251104.13
Page(s)	116-130
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

The Interpretive Theory of Translation, Consecutive Interpreting, Translation Units, Interpreting Assessment

References

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APA Style

Li, X. (2025). Larger or Smaller: An Empirical Study on the Impact of Translation Units on E-C Consecutive Interpreting Quality. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation, 11(4), 116-130. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20251104.13

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ACS Style

Li, X. Larger or Smaller: An Empirical Study on the Impact of Translation Units on E-C Consecutive Interpreting Quality. Int. J. Appl. Linguist. Transl. 2025, 11(4), 116-130. doi: 10.11648/j.ijalt.20251104.13

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AMA Style

Li X. Larger or Smaller: An Empirical Study on the Impact of Translation Units on E-C Consecutive Interpreting Quality. Int J Appl Linguist Transl. 2025;11(4):116-130. doi: 10.11648/j.ijalt.20251104.13

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@article{10.11648/j.ijalt.20251104.13,
  author = {Xiaoyi Li},
  title = {Larger or Smaller: An Empirical Study on the Impact of Translation Units on E-C Consecutive Interpreting Quality
},
  journal = {International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation},
  volume = {11},
  number = {4},
  pages = {116-130},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijalt.20251104.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20251104.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijalt.20251104.13},
  abstract = {The interpretive theory of translation (ITT) is a leading theory for interpreter training. It posits that the interpreter conveys meaning as if it were their own, highlighting the absence of formal correspondence. A core component of this process is deverbalization, where the source text’s form is secondary to its meaning. This study empirically investigates the impact of translation unit segmentation on the quality of English-Chinese consecutive interpreting. The methodology bridges the theoretical “sense units” of ITT and the analyzable “translation units” from linguistic studies, to examine how trainee interpreters deverbalize the source text. The results reveal that: (1) optimal units: sentence groups as translation units prove beneficial in enabling interpreters to deverbalize the original text and convey the sense, prioritizing contextual equivalence over formal correspondence, thereby elevating the interpreting quality; (2) unit impact on quality: sentence groups and phrases as translation units demonstrate the potential for enhancing the interpreting quality, words as translation units may lead to a decline in interpreting quality; (3) correlation findings: a positive correlation exists between the count of subordinate clauses and phrases, and a negative correlation exists between sentences and sentence groups. Furthermore, the findings suggest that an interpreter’s speech segmentation preferences affect interpreting performance. The study concludes that these preferences have implications for interpreting curriculum design and quality assessment within interpreter education programs.
},
 year = {2025}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Larger or Smaller: An Empirical Study on the Impact of Translation Units on E-C Consecutive Interpreting Quality

AU  - Xiaoyi Li
Y1  - 2025/11/22
PY  - 2025
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20251104.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijalt.20251104.13
T2  - International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation
JF  - International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation
JO  - International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation
SP  - 116
EP  - 130
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2472-1271
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20251104.13
AB  - The interpretive theory of translation (ITT) is a leading theory for interpreter training. It posits that the interpreter conveys meaning as if it were their own, highlighting the absence of formal correspondence. A core component of this process is deverbalization, where the source text’s form is secondary to its meaning. This study empirically investigates the impact of translation unit segmentation on the quality of English-Chinese consecutive interpreting. The methodology bridges the theoretical “sense units” of ITT and the analyzable “translation units” from linguistic studies, to examine how trainee interpreters deverbalize the source text. The results reveal that: (1) optimal units: sentence groups as translation units prove beneficial in enabling interpreters to deverbalize the original text and convey the sense, prioritizing contextual equivalence over formal correspondence, thereby elevating the interpreting quality; (2) unit impact on quality: sentence groups and phrases as translation units demonstrate the potential for enhancing the interpreting quality, words as translation units may lead to a decline in interpreting quality; (3) correlation findings: a positive correlation exists between the count of subordinate clauses and phrases, and a negative correlation exists between sentences and sentence groups. Furthermore, the findings suggest that an interpreter’s speech segmentation preferences affect interpreting performance. The study concludes that these preferences have implications for interpreting curriculum design and quality assessment within interpreter education programs.

VL  - 11
IS  - 4
ER  -

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Author Information

Xiaoyi Li

Graduate Institute of Interpretation and Translation, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai, China

Contact Email

http://orcid.org/0009-0005-0790-8753

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APA Style

Li, X. (2025). Larger or Smaller: An Empirical Study on the Impact of Translation Units on E-C Consecutive Interpreting Quality. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation, 11(4), 116-130. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20251104.13

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ACS Style

Li, X. Larger or Smaller: An Empirical Study on the Impact of Translation Units on E-C Consecutive Interpreting Quality. Int. J. Appl. Linguist. Transl. 2025, 11(4), 116-130. doi: 10.11648/j.ijalt.20251104.13

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AMA Style

Li X. Larger or Smaller: An Empirical Study on the Impact of Translation Units on E-C Consecutive Interpreting Quality. Int J Appl Linguist Transl. 2025;11(4):116-130. doi: 10.11648/j.ijalt.20251104.13

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ijalt.20251104.13,
  author = {Xiaoyi Li},
  title = {Larger or Smaller: An Empirical Study on the Impact of Translation Units on E-C Consecutive Interpreting Quality
},
  journal = {International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation},
  volume = {11},
  number = {4},
  pages = {116-130},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijalt.20251104.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20251104.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijalt.20251104.13},
  abstract = {The interpretive theory of translation (ITT) is a leading theory for interpreter training. It posits that the interpreter conveys meaning as if it were their own, highlighting the absence of formal correspondence. A core component of this process is deverbalization, where the source text’s form is secondary to its meaning. This study empirically investigates the impact of translation unit segmentation on the quality of English-Chinese consecutive interpreting. The methodology bridges the theoretical “sense units” of ITT and the analyzable “translation units” from linguistic studies, to examine how trainee interpreters deverbalize the source text. The results reveal that: (1) optimal units: sentence groups as translation units prove beneficial in enabling interpreters to deverbalize the original text and convey the sense, prioritizing contextual equivalence over formal correspondence, thereby elevating the interpreting quality; (2) unit impact on quality: sentence groups and phrases as translation units demonstrate the potential for enhancing the interpreting quality, words as translation units may lead to a decline in interpreting quality; (3) correlation findings: a positive correlation exists between the count of subordinate clauses and phrases, and a negative correlation exists between sentences and sentence groups. Furthermore, the findings suggest that an interpreter’s speech segmentation preferences affect interpreting performance. The study concludes that these preferences have implications for interpreting curriculum design and quality assessment within interpreter education programs.
},
 year = {2025}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Larger or Smaller: An Empirical Study on the Impact of Translation Units on E-C Consecutive Interpreting Quality

AU  - Xiaoyi Li
Y1  - 2025/11/22
PY  - 2025
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20251104.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijalt.20251104.13
T2  - International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation
JF  - International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation
JO  - International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation
SP  - 116
EP  - 130
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2472-1271
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20251104.13
AB  - The interpretive theory of translation (ITT) is a leading theory for interpreter training. It posits that the interpreter conveys meaning as if it were their own, highlighting the absence of formal correspondence. A core component of this process is deverbalization, where the source text’s form is secondary to its meaning. This study empirically investigates the impact of translation unit segmentation on the quality of English-Chinese consecutive interpreting. The methodology bridges the theoretical “sense units” of ITT and the analyzable “translation units” from linguistic studies, to examine how trainee interpreters deverbalize the source text. The results reveal that: (1) optimal units: sentence groups as translation units prove beneficial in enabling interpreters to deverbalize the original text and convey the sense, prioritizing contextual equivalence over formal correspondence, thereby elevating the interpreting quality; (2) unit impact on quality: sentence groups and phrases as translation units demonstrate the potential for enhancing the interpreting quality, words as translation units may lead to a decline in interpreting quality; (3) correlation findings: a positive correlation exists between the count of subordinate clauses and phrases, and a negative correlation exists between sentences and sentence groups. Furthermore, the findings suggest that an interpreter’s speech segmentation preferences affect interpreting performance. The study concludes that these preferences have implications for interpreting curriculum design and quality assessment within interpreter education programs.

VL  - 11
IS  - 4
ER  -

Copy | Download